The Hollywood Script

Impressions of Avatar

2009-12-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

I saw Avatar today (a film that took several years to make and was delayed even more due to its advanced technology) and thought it was truly exceptional on many levels. I like to keep my mind pure of other people's reviews before seeing a new movie (or even an old one for that matter) so my first impressions are completely my own. That is not the same as living in a bubble. I DO do my research. Here are my impressions of Avatar.

Landmark Film

Avatar is one of those movies that you must see - even if it's just to stay literate in the language of film. And you must see it on a big screen. The bigger the screen the better and preferably in 3D. Avatar has ridden the CG/live-action wave and developed new camera systems and software for motion capture (the cutting-edge process of filming actors and then mapping their images and movements onto 3D computer models). The technological achievement alone is a major accomplishment but is even more relevant to revenue because now more than ever a film has to have a compelling reason to be just to get theatrical release.

Visual Smorgasbord

The eye-popping visuals are state-of-the-art and telegraph the crucial story beats without dialogue. One has the sense that the screen is a giant, moving canvas. I felt that this was a very conscious decision. To my mind the natural world of Pandora seems a bit overdone with the FX of mocap. We get that everthing is "alive" there but less may have been more in some instances.

Nevertheless, as part of the storytelling process writer/Director James Cameron paints the two camps (military might versus stone age tribes) with two distinct palettes. He uses cool greens, blues and luminous light for Pandora's landscapes & creatures juxtaposing them with harsh metallics, barren sepia tones and hard or distored light for the machines. So much so the core conflict reads non-verbally from every angle.

The World of Pandora

An immense amount of work went into bringing the logic and rules of the imaginary world of Pandora to life. To begin with, one cannot escape the fact that the moon itself is named after a Greek Goddess, the first woman on earth. While your eyes are feasting on the sheer beauty of the film, you may not notice or know that James Cameron hired botanist Jodie Holt to design the flora and fauna of the fictional biosphere. It is not a casual creation. Everything corresponds to an agreed upon science. They created a "zooplantae" (plant/animal hybrids) to populate the forest. A linguist (Paul Frommer) also came on-board to create a unique Na'vi language for the indigenous people there. Avatar fans can learn to speak Na'vi the same way Trekkies learned Klingon.

While all that is wonderful and will no doubt boost cross-marketing products like t-shirts, art books, dolls and games, to me the biggest takeaway was the emphasis placed on the wisdom of the Na'vi tribal culture and their relationship to the land. It borrows heavily from American Indian and Asian Pacific tribal cultures and the concept of a collective consciousness that is managed by harmonious co-existence with the great spirit mother.

The great spirit is present on the molecular level in all living things. So the Na'vi live according to the respect for all life. When they slay an animal, like the American Indian, they speak to it and thank it for its life which gives life in ritual of death. We see this on the micro and marco levels. There are several scenes near the spirit tree where the roots seem to blend with the arms and legs of the Na'vi who have linked arms in a prayer chant. An unforgettable image.

Themes

This is an epic work of fiction set in a distant galaxy but very much based on human issues and understanding. A key theme is the polarization of eco-friendly, spirit-based culture and industrialized warmongering as a capitalist means to an end. There is an unmistakable female versus male flavor to it all with the synthesis as the endpoint. We will not see that synthesis complete its cycle for two more sequels.

The interconnectedness of all things runs deep in the storyline. Even hero Scully's conflict between causes draws on that theme. We can't help feeling that the loss of his legs as a marine in action brought him to his destiny as Pandora's saviour. It is interesting to note that Avatar is a sanskrit word that signifies a deity in human form, the embodiment of a concept, an archetype.

Survival of the life force after death in the form of spirit is also present and I suspect will become even more important to the plot as the franchise develops.

Critique

The only thing that kind of bugged me about the film was the blunt force feel of the character development. This is probably the result of the long and somewhat less than spontaneous process of mo-cap itself. Once the animation was laid down, changes were not an option. They most likely just had to go with some less than elegant transitions and sometimes unnaturally clipped sound byte style dialogue.

I also felt that the hired guns of the capitalist venture were a bit too highly stylized and stereotypical for their own good. This will play well in the video game version but I suspect that Cameron will find a way to soften the monstrous dark side that he has created or map out a believable fissure in the inhuman facade.

For a little backstory on the making of the film, here's an interview with Cameron before the release of the film (click here) and another with film composer James Horner on his approach to scoring the film (click here).

The L.A. Times did an exclusive on James Horner's search to find the sound of Pandora last month. Here are the links to that two-part interview:

Part One of an exclusive interview with film composer James Horner on the sound of Pandora (the moon where the film takes place). Part Two of L.A. Times interview with film composer James Horner.

There will be at least one and possibly two sequels.

The Artistry of Dylan Cole

2009-12-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay between posts. I am in the process of a lot of musical work, which is a great homecoming for me:) Can't believe I have been away from my first love so long. Spending major amounts of time in rehearsal.

Today, while looking up some of my old cronies at Disney Animated Features for some belated holiday card-sending, I came across this fabulous demo reel by the talented digital matte painter Dylan Cole. Fantastic. Pictures worth thousands of words. Treat yourself!

Word of Mouth & the 2009 Black List

2009-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Nikki Finke (founder and editor in chief of Deadline Hollywood Daily) just released an exclusive Black List of the most liked screenwriters and scripts of 2009. This should put to rest, at least to some degree, the notion that your wonderful, unique script got the shaft - many times because the story analyst quashed it.

Great work might have trouble finding its way to the screen for reasons of politics, or budgeting or something too similar on the development slate, but it will never go unnoticed. According to Finke, the Black List was created by collecting the word-of-mouth from 311 studio executives and agents. Five mentions put you on the list.

This is her story entirely so the only appropriate thing to do is point you in the direction of it. Follow this link to read the 2009 Black List - which put no less than 97 films in development this year. You can read the working title of the film, the blurb, the elements attached thus far and who's producing it. Fantastic information.

You'll also find links to the Manager and Agent "scorecards" - of best liked managers and agents in Hollywood.

Insights from Pixar

2009-12-11T12:45:00.000-08:00

This is a brief interview from iinnovate, a fascinating, eclectic series on the most innovative people and stuff out there. File this one under inspirational.

Here's a Pixar short just for grins. Love the POV of the story.

World's First Spaceliner Unveiled

2009-12-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! This is so exciting. Today Sir Richard Branson unveiled his SS2 space ship, which heralds the arrival of the first commerical space travel in history. Now that we've discovered water on the moon and, more recently, lunar lava tubes (which are large enough to house a space colony) travelling into space and even living there is soon to become a reality.

Virgin Galactic has ordered 7 space ships which are currently being built. The first two have already been named: the Virgin Space Ship Enterprise and the Virgin Space ship Voyager. Branson reportedly offered William Shatner a free ride on the first flight of the Enterprise (the price of a single ticket goes for $200,000 and 65,000 tickets have already been spoken for) but Shatner turned it down claiming a need for a guaranteed return flight.

James Cameron's much anticipated 3D, technology-pioneering space movie Avatar will be in theatres next weekend and Disney is already well on its way to producing a pair of space/cyber space operas in the form of Tron Legacy and a remake of Disney's 1979 picture The Black Hole. Here's a sneak peek at some Tron test footage that debuted at the July 2009 Comic-Con...

If you've got a sci-fi/space movie script, now is a good time to put it forward.

The Story behind Richard Avedon

2009-12-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

He may be most remembered for his fashion photos but his pictures are full of motion and drama. So, here, for your Sunday afternoon viewing pleasure is part one of the nine-part series from the PBS American Masters Series. You can access all nine segments through this portal. Truly marvelous.

I think I'm some kind of a reader...I used to love handwriting analysis. But that's nothing compared to reading a face. I think if I'd decided to go into the fortune telling business, I probably would've been very good. What happens to me is that in work I look for something in a face and what I look for is contradiction. Complexity. Things that are contradictory and at the same time connected.

I work out of a series of nos. No to distracting elements ...no to exquisite light...no to certain subject matter...no to props. All these nos force me into the yes.

Interactive Media for Writers

2009-12-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Just came across this software called Xtranormal, which allows anyone to make a movie using a mouse, a keyboard and videogame engines to create animation. It's primitive compared to Hollywood standards, of course, but an indicator of where things are headed in the not-to-distant future.

The basic software is free - allowing you to make a mini-movie and either post it on the site there, export it to YouTube or email it to your friends. I can't think of a more perfect application for mobile.

P.S. If you find this interesting, you may also enjoy an article written by a fellow blogger about some new iPhone apps that allow you to write and edit your script on your mobile phone. Pretty amazing stuff - in case you didn't know about it yet. Here are the links to top five picks so you can go directly to the source to learn more...

- Screenplay

- Movie Idea Generator

- Storyteller Story and Character Generator

- Super Index Cards

- Mobile Storyboard

Who needs to sit alone at a desktop? And if you want to do some quick research, there's a new interface with imdb.com called MovieGenie that will connect you to all the film facts, trailers, TV show histories, bios and review listings stored on the site.

Life After Film School

2009-12-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

UPDATE 12/20/2009: Jon Cassar WON'T be directing Motorcade afterall, as Dreamworks scuttled the pic due to the economic climate (at least that's the partyline). If you ask me, DreamWorks live-action is reinventing itself under Steven Spielberg since he split Paramount and left Jeffrey Katzenberg to the Animated Features division).

Latest news has Cassar directing The History Channel's first scripted mini-series ever, The Kennedys in 2010. News reports have it that this will focus on the family and the influence of "Godfather-like" patriarch Joe Kennedy. Should be riveting as it promises to strip away the fairytale as much as possible and tell it from a more historical POV. There was another mini-series called Kennedy in 1983 for the 20th anniversary of JFK's assassination. It was all about JFK.

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I don't know Jon Cassar personally, but came across this interview and found it so generous and straightforward about the realities of working in TV and film I wanted to share it with you. There is some reference to writing - just enough perhaps to reiterate the fact that TV is far more extemporaneous and interactive than feature writing. Jon Cassar was, at the time of this taping, an executive producer and director of the hit Fox show 24 - starring Kiefer Sutherland.

Cassar is reportedly going to direct a major motion picture for DreamWorks called Motorcade in early 2010. A more recent update has Mr. Cassar directing an episode of the new Fox prime time TV series Human Target - a live-action adaptation/remake of the DC comic and graphic novel by the same name. I wish Mr. Cassar all the best. Fox would be lucky to have him move into place as an executive producer on that show as well.

Insight into India

2009-12-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

Though perhaps not of direct consequence, this TEDTalk by Sashi Tharoor (member of Parliament, Minister of External Affairs and author) provides a fascinating window into India, home of Bollywood, the "ever, ever land" and an audience base that will soon exceed even China in numbers.

"It's not the country that has the biggest army that wins, it's the one that tells a better story".

It's interesting that nothing is mentioned here about how those millions and millions of cellphones may also be used to view digital entertainment. Nielsen's Three Screen Report only covers TV, Internet and Mobile usage in the U.S. but it stands to reason that if mobile video usage is up 51% in north America, it's up significantly in India and other countries as well. THAT has an impact on content development, although what that impact is remains to be seen.

Girls Score at Box Office Again!

2009-11-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

Update: 12/6/09 - Blind Side eclipses New Moon at the Box Office. Unheard of...takes the top spot in third week of release.

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The weekend box office numbers are rolling in and New Moon continues to dominate. Although it lost 70% in the second week, the first sequel to Twilight has ravaged audiences to the tune of $453 million internationally in just 10 days. Fox has already snagged the broadcast rights to all five movies (including three that haven't been made yet) so Twihards can start marking their calendars.

To me, however, the big news for future development is is how well Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side is performing. Check this out, more the 100 million in U.S. domestic box office in the second week. This makes Blind Side the fastest sports movie in history to score 100 million. Outstanding. Remember this story features what was once considered box office poison, a middle-aged female in the lead.

Of course it helps that Sandra is a hottie working off of a great script based on a true story (and the book The Blind Side: The Evolution of the Game). Another element in the movie's favor is the fact that it involves the backstory of Baltimore Ravens footballer Michael Oher and a seldom seen look at how the game is played. Those things attract the coveted male audience. But still, Hollywood MUST notice this trend. From now on, we're going to be seeing more big movies with female protagonists.

As an aside, it was announced a few weeks back that someone FINALLY put one of my favorite, female-driven stories in development. Christopher Buckley's Florence of Arabia is now officially on track to be a major motion picture.

The Tsarina's Slippers

2009-11-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

...also known as Cherevichki, by Tchaikovsky (his only comic opera) is now playing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The story is based on a folk tale by Nikolai Gogol ...and guess what? It features an everyman character who makes a pact with the devil to win the heart of a witch's daughter. Hmmm (by "hmmm" I refer to my previous post about ideas for development).

Interesting that The Tsarina's Slippers should make its debut in the west for the first time in history THIS WEEK (or if it's not the First time in history then it's certainly close. Most of us have never heard of it). Here's the blurb from the ROH website:

This little-known work is rarely staged outside Russia. Based on a popular story by Gogol, the plot concerns Vakula the blacksmith and his magical quest to steal the Tsarina’s slippers for his sweetheart, the village beauty Oksana. Vakula enlists the help of the devil, who helps him gatecrash the Tsarina's ball in St Petersburg on Christmas Eve.

Even though the main character makes a pact with the devil there is no Faustian retribution; the hero outwits the devil and drives him away. The opera is a comedy, full of humour, romance and fairy tale. Along the way, there is a ballet of water sprites, danced by members of The Royal Ballet, a chorus of wood goblins, a great snow storm, and a mission to steal the moon.

Click on this link to watch the animated video trailer...and if you're interested in more about the storyline click here. It looks fantastic, right in line with what Hollywood would love to make right now. And the whole thing is in public domain. I think they call it synchronicity:)

Vampires, Witches and Wolves

2009-11-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying I'm not doing a piece on New Moon because everybody else on the planet is and from a development perspective, once a movie comes out, it's already old news by a couple of years. But it bears mentioning that the sequel to novelist Stephenie Meyers' first book-turned-movie is posting some record breaking numbers and that DOES impact script development and acquisitions. Nikki Finke has the scoop on the numbers.

To begin with, it seems to me that New Moon sends a pair of messages to the powers that be in Hollywood.

#1 There's a fiercely underfed female audience (about 80% of the NM audience is female). The old adage that the best box office bang for the buck is a male 30-40something lead with the female in the supporting role, has to stand down. For the third time in 18 months this "box office phenomenon" has occured (Sex in the City: The Movie being the first). Sex2, BTW, trips into theatres Memorial Day.

#2 Twilight Saga's blockbuster success bumps up interest in gothic (although not necessarily just horror) - because everybody wants a safe investment. There are already several pics in the pipeline including a remake of the classic horror flick The Wolfman (out February 12, 2010)

Tim Burton's remake of Dark Shadows (with Johnny Depp as Barnabas) promises to be a classic of a classic and as does next summer's Jerry Bruckheimer adventure The Sorcerer's Apprentice (with Nicholas Cage). Here's the Disney animated short, taken from Fantasia, just for grins.

Jerry Bruckheimer's version takes the original short story by Goethe and sets it in urban New York with a simple college student who finds himself working for a wizard and learning the tricks of the trade. Should be fun. It's slated for a late July 2010 release. And this morning stories were already circulating that a sequel for Joe Dante's The Howling is going into development.

Is there room for more? Probably. At this very moment development execs are likely pouring over classics looking for stories in public domain. Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein is already in development at Universal and Guillermo del Toro is on record as wanting to do a remake of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde after he finishes The Hobbit.

Faust, or a story containing Faustian elements is a good bet and possibly something by Edgar Allan Poe. Maybe even a story about Poe himself. He was a very dark, tragic character. Also maybe a modern adaptation of or something around The Tales of Hoffman. Here's hoping for an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's latest book, The Graveyard.

There IS a remake of Little Shop of Horrors in the works. The new film won't be a redo of the Frank Oz musical. It's based on the original 1960Roger Corman flick. Last, but not least, as predicted, Joss Whedon will be making a big studio version of Dr. Horrible. Toldja! Here's a clip from the original...

But the real takeaway here is the hunger for the genre. If you ask me, it's got a lot to do with the need for people to get lost in fantasy. At least the monsters in the movies are tangible, unlike so much of what we face in life. Harry Potter, it seems, was just the tip of the iceberg. And it's only a matter of time before someone does a spoof. Doc Horrible already qualifies for that but there will most likely be at least one more. I just hope they don't remake Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. It'd be awfully hard to top...

David Lynch Documentary on Meditation

2009-11-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard by now, Director David Lynch is making a documentary based on the life and work of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (who passed away in February 2008). The Maharishi taught Trancendental Meditation (aka TM) and was one of the first gurus from India to travel to the west. He was known as The Beatles' guru.

There are many videos online but this makes the most sense to me.

Here's David Lynch speaking to students at a Maharishi University. The yogi spent his life teaching meditation and setting up centers of education to incorporate it.

Mr. Lynch now has a foundation devoted to teaching TM to at-risk-youth (DavidLynchFoundation), which is endorsed by many celebrities, including Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Their goal is to teach a million kids how to meditate to lower stress levels, increase a sense of well being and raise concentration. Here's comprehensive press conference video (about 70 min)if you want to learn more.

It turns out that Donovan has joined Lynch's goal to teach TM to a million children and is heading up the musical wing. This clip is a couple of years old but gives a little window into the subtle way meditative awareness opens us to deeper levels of experience and creativity.

David Lynch's documentary on the life and message of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi goes into production next month in India. The film promises to be fascinating.

The Sixth Sense Redefined

2009-11-18T17:38:00.000-08:00

I had not actually intended this post but came across this video in my research today and was so amazed by it I wanted to share it. Please exercise a bit of patience as the speaker/inventor in this video, Pranav Mistry, is from India and (for us westerners) his "accent" is a bit hard to hear. However, if you will make that small effort I think you will find this one of the most amazing discoveries of recent times.

Hollywood, are you listening?

2012: Time for Change

2009-11-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

Roland Emmerich's latest blockbuster 2012 may wow the public with special effects and a cinematic experience you can't get on the small screen but there's another film on the horizon that eschews the exploitative, end-times fear it promotes. That, in itself, may spell doomsday for this thoughtful non-fiction piece but only time will tell. 2012: A Time For Change is a speculative documentary produced by Curious Pictures and directed by Emmy nominated Joao Amorim.

According to the website, "the film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method." It features interviews with anthropologists, physicists and celebrites like Sting, Ellen Page and Gilberto Gil.

Pinchbeck's idea of 2012 is that there is a new age dawning in the evolution of mankind and the Mayan's, Hopi and others have known about it for millenia. This lines up with esoteric Hindu thought, Buckminster Fuller's POV, the popular concepts of The Law of Attraction and books like Ekhart Tolle's "A New Earth".

Joao Amorim on Vimeo.

Amorin (who is also the director/animator of the online animated series Postmodern Times) created this video/interview with Pinchbeck to illustrate his version of what's happening cosmologically right now.

Can't help noticing the sort of retro 60s/Timothy Leary feel. That is, of course, another very hot trend so this may be more interesting to more people than may first be apparent. FYI, Woody Harrelson's character in Roland Emmerich's picture (the long-haired prophet of comical proportions) is said to be a caricature of Daniel Pinchbeck. Interesting.

Virgin Galactic & Moon Town

2009-11-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

Sir Richard Branson chats about the imminent unveiling of his first Virgin Galactic ship, which debuts in the Mojave December 7, and possible hotels in space. What a visionary! It also gives some reality to a story idea I have about the colonization of the moon. Great timing what with NASA's recent discovery of water there.

I got so excited about this today, I did a little research and landed on the European Space Agency site, which then took me to a YouTube portal which invites the public to ask the ISS commander Frank de Winne any question you like about space exploration. My video equipment remains primitive, but I was able to ask a video question to assist me in writing my story. He hasn't had time to answer me yet (and there's no guarantee he will) but I've included the ESA trailer/invitation here. We live in an exciting time, no?

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009-11-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

UPDATE 11/15/09 - Mega budget disaster film 2012 in massive worldwide release and dominating the box office in spite of bad buzz and script. Fantastic Mr. Fox, on the other hand, is only out in 2 theatres in NYC and 2 in LA but getting great reviews and high per-screen averages ($65,000 per screen). So out of the gate it's not a fair fight but Fox looks like a winner in the long run.

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Another stop-motion picture, Fantastic Mr.Fox, (based on a children's book by Roald Dahl) opens today in the U.S. Amazing. Just a year ago only Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks (and Fox for The Simpsons Movie & their Ice Age franchise) but this year there are no less than 20 animated features vying for an Oscar.

Part of this trend has to do with the phenomenal box office return of the big three but others have obviously (finally) grasped the perennial nature of the medium (recyclable every 7 years into perpetuity)and the cross-marketing potential (t-shirts, toys, DVDs, dolls, etc).

Of course this doesn't mean all 20 films are GOOD. Animation is a peculiar animal. Slapping animation over a live-action style script will not produce the box-office results these late-comers are after. Character-based story is king in animation, which is why basing one on a popular children's book is the #1 method. But also adaptations work best when the action remains rooted in pantomime.

Perhaps even more significant, as if that weren't enough, are the technological changes that are pioneering our industry. Compupter generated images (CGI) and 3D and stop-motion combined with a palette of special effects make the "animated film" one of the most creative and interesting to watch. Yesterday, NPR gave director Wes Anderson's new movie a big thumbs up...

Keep your eye on this one. It's likely to surprise at the box office.
Fantastic Mr. Fox opens wide on Thanksgiving.

A&E Going with "Jacksons" Reality Show

2009-11-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

"The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty" will be a six-part mini-series that begins airing on A & E December 13 @9/8 central. Not sure how to feel about this move. But I've always wanted to learn "The Moonwalk". And guess what, here's how...

MTV Shows

My question is, why can't they let This is It be, you know, it? Michael's rehearsal film has already made motion picture history as the highest grossing concert film of all time. Here are the numbers, as of November 9, 2009. It's also the #1 album in America and in 16 other countries.

And I guess the answer is, with numbers like that, Hollywood can't resist milking it for more. Maybe they're right. I'm just saying...watching the Jackson dynasty, post Michael, isn't something I want to see.

Twenty Years... After The Fall

2009-11-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

There is almost nothing left of the Berlin Wall. AFTER THE FALL, a documentary produced in 2008, is a portrait of Berlin that recounts the story of the creation and disappearance of the most absurd of constructions: the Berlin Wall.

A compelling, well-balanced look at a fractured culture finding its way back to wholeness. It's beautifully shot and edited and punctuated by audio and visual dissonance. Some of the metaphors don't quite work but overall the filmmaker successfully gives us a body of conflicting perspectives that collectively resemble the recovery of a singular soul.

Happy anniversary Berlin.

Impressions of Paranormal Activity

2009-11-07T10:43:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: 11/12/09 Paranormal Activity tops the $100 million domestic sales mark making it top grossing "R" thriller of the decade.

Finally saw Paranormal Activity last night and was amazed in spite of my skepticism. After all, how scary could an amateur film that cost $15,000 to produce really be? I came away with some very distinct impressions that I'll leave with you here. If you haven't seen it yet...

Impression number one...you don't need a complicated, highly structured plot to make a scary movie. Paranormal's storyline is an exercise in simplicity. When I was at Universal, we made a little film called Meet the Fockers and learned that lesson for the comedy genre. People just want to have fun. If you take a funny situation and escalate the comedy, you can have a winner.

From an analytical standpoint, Paranormal lacks shading and catharsis but that hasn't hurt it at the box office and most people don't seem to mind the absence of these elements. The faux "news update a la Blair Witch Project" bookend device brackets the film with suprising success.

Impression number two...Writer/director/editor Oren Peli has made a high concept movie on an extreme low budget. It's easy to get your head around and all about the experience. Some people have referred to it as minimalist filmmaking but they don't know what "minimalism" in the film world actually means. It's not minimalist at all. It's pure formula. And it works, even when you know it's hokey. Just place this structural grid (from Robert McKee's book) over the script for proof.

Impression number three...the audience involvement in the picture was AS important and impressive as the film itself. We are living in an interactive environment. Paranormal is a visceral experience that is best seen in a theatre. Outstanding plus because the DVD market has crashed.

The studio obviously picked up on the interactive quality of the film (which I believe is partly due to the "home movie" look and feel of the film) too because it literally became their marketing plan. If you go to this website you too can be a part of "the phenomenon".

Impression number four...As much as I hate to admit it, you don't need a musical score to make a successful feature film either. The only sounds other than dialogue in the entire film are the sound FX. Even those are very primitive. Amazing. That said, I will say that I missed the musical texture of a score and believe it would've filled some of the moments that got a little slow. Having someone like James Horner score the sequel would be a very welcome addition.

So what are you waiting for? It doesn't have to be that complicated. I'm willing to bet that all the studios will be more open to this type of submission now that Paranormal Activity has proven itself at the box office. Here are the US domestic box office numbers as of Nov. 6 2009 (this was initially only released in 12 theatres for the first three of its six week run so far and is now in 2,558 theatres)

BTW, A sequel is on the way.

A Little Comic Relief on Movie Logic

2009-11-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

I was doodling around the Twitterverse this morning when I came across a very funny list of comical observations from Emmy award winning director Jon Cassar. Jon is now working on his first feature film for DreamWorks called Motorcade, an action-thriller in pre-production here in L.A. BTW, if you need a script girl...:)

A little clarification here, Jon didn't author all of these. Some come from a pre-existing list that inspired him to sort of riff on with some of his own ideas in an on-going "tweet-series"). Thanks Jon for your insights into some embarassing secrets of the screentrade and whoever else wrote/compiled the list. File this under "movie-logic"... I've included the latest three at the end. So far What We Learn From The Movies boasts 30 oddly logical witticisms and still counting...here's hoping he keeps them coming.

What We Learn From the Movies

1. Large, loft-style apartments in New York City are well within the price range of most people - whether they are employed or not.
2. At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil.
3. Should you decide to defuse a bomb, don't worry which wire to cut. You will always choose the right one.
4. Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications system of any invading alien society.
5. It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts - your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.
6. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your bedroom will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.
7. If you are blonde and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22.
8. Honest and hard working policemen are traditionally gunned down three days before their retirement.
9. Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their archenemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gasses, lasers, and man-eating sharks, which will allow their captives at least 20 minutes to escape.
10. During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.
11. All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets that reach up to the armpit level on a woman but only to waist level on the man lying beside her.
12. All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
13. It's easy for anyone to land a plane providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.
14. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off-even while scuba diving.
15. You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
16. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German or Russian officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German or Russian accent will do. (It used to be an English accent for the German).
17. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
18. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
19. If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.
20. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.
21. Word processors never display a cursor on screen but will always say: Enter Password Now.
22. Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.
23. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off.
24. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
25. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you meet will know all the steps.
26. Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
27. When they are alone, all foreign military officers prefer to speak to each other in English.

# # #

Here are the most recent tweets that take the list up to #30 this morning...

28. Children, in no way whatsoever, look like their parents or their siblings

29. If a crazed psychopath is chasing you, you should always stop and look behind you to see if he still is there.

30. Even if your life is in danger and you're being chased, there's still time to start a romantic relationsip with a total stranger.

ALL GOOD TO KNOW IF YOU'RE WRITING A FEATURE AND WANT TO SELL IT IN HOLLYWOOD!

P.S. Just learned that Jon has gotten so much buzz from this little project he's got another series on the way. It's the 2.0 version.Good show! To follow this thread, visit his website here.

There's a New Cat in Town

2009-11-02T06:33:00.000-08:00

English animator/director Simon Tofield put out a new cartoon short on YouTube a few weeks ago in celebration of his first book - which is available now worldwide! Gotta love it...

Here's one of the first, it's called 'Cat Man Do'

My kitty actually did a version of this this morning. There's a feature film percolating here...Anybody got an idea for the script?

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

UPDATED: 11/7/09 Neil Gaiman's latest novel The Graveyard Book just nominated for a Carnegie Medal. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Snagged this spooky gourd from Neil Gaiman's online journal. It was carved in honor of his book-turned-film Coraline. Cool huh? I love Mr. Gaiman's work. Here's an interview with Henry Selik, Coraline's director...

He's got a new book out called The Graveyard Book (a great time to be promoting it, BTW) that I'm willing to bet will soon be a movie. It's about a young boy who's raised by the ghosts and goblins and ghouls in the graveyard where he lives. The question is, will he be able to meet the challenges of the "real" world?

The Auteurs (the world's first online cinema for "legit" filmmakers worldwide) is also hosting a special scary movie weekend. If you've got nothing else planned, click here to visit the site and watch some vintage classics for FREE! This is a photo from the Onibaba Festival. Onibaba is a Buddhist folktale that was made into a horror film in Japan in 1964. It was directed by Kaneto Shindo and is one of the rare independent films you can watch free at the Auteurs site today.

In many cultures it is believed that on this night, the veil between the living and the dead is thinner than at any other time. That's why the common tradition that all cultures share is an honoring of the spirit world. Our neighbors in Mexico today celebrate Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Catholics, of course, recognize tomorrow as All Souls Day or All Saints Day.

Some years ago when I was living in Hawaii, I attended a Bon Festival, which is a Japanese version of the Festival of the Dead. They are on a lunar calendar so the celebration/dance usually takes place in July/August. We met on the beach at a Buddhist Temple. There were candlelit paper lanterns all around and a beautiful altar filled with fresh cut flowers and island fruits. Entire families particiated in a folk dance called the Bon Dance.

Incense was burning and there was much activity as the faithful prepared a ritual called Toro Nagashi, a moment when floating candlelit paper lanterns that hold the spirts of our ancestors are sent back to the "otherworld". At the climax of the ritual, the boats were set free on the waves with their fires gleaming under the stars and reflecting off the water. We watched until they disappeared. It was one of the most beautiful rituals I've ever attended.

I found a commericalized version of the Toro Nagashi ceremony on YouTube. Here you can even see a few moments of hula, another of my beloved dances.

It turns out that about 10 years ago some of the leaders in Honolulu decided to combine the celebration of Memorial Day with Toro Nagashi - in honor of those lost in WWII. It has become a very popular tradition now. Here is a commemorative video that gives an idea of the worldwide response to the ritual.

There is a rich story tradition behind all of these. And that is yet another great reason to explore the many avenues of the holiday. Many of the producers and film execs I've known consider it essential for writers and story development folks to immerse themselves in all kinds of cultural research. So have a great night. And who knows? You may just stumble on an idea for your next story.

Cinelan & Snag Films

2009-10-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

This is going to be short. Had a wonderful day today singing at the community center and meeting a keyboardist who has invited me to sit in with him at a club in Westlake. What fun! It's been a very long time since I did this. Nice to know I still can and people want to listen.

Also had a kind of breakthrough in the script and film area of life. I have some ideas for short films which I pitched to a new producer friend this morning. Then later today I literally stumbled on a company called Cinelan (which is based in the US) that collaborates with filmmakers on 3 minute non-fiction pieces.

Can't really go into it with you yet because the info I have is not complete but if you've got story ideas for mini-documentaries, Cinelan might just want to help you make and distribute them on the web. Here's a link that takes you to an info page.

Snag Films, on the other hand, is actively accepting indie documentary films of a more standard length (an average of 90 minutes). You must have had your film accepted into a Film Festival to be considered for online distribution. Here's the link if you're interested. Worth checking out anway!

Wild Things takes top spot at B.O.

2009-10-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Spike Jonze' adaptation of Mauce Sendak's classic children's book roared into first place at the box office on it's opening weekend in the USA earning 32.7 million from approximately 5,000 screens (including 145 IMAX). Not Harry Potter numbers for sure but it's performing above studio expectations and captures four quadrants. 43% of the audience is over the age of 18, 55% female. A pretty healthy balance that will likely give the film legs. For a more in-depth look at the audience demographic click here.

To listen to the soundtrack by "Karen O and the Kids" click here.